Prior art of possible relevance includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,123,376 to Rextrew; 1,562,350 to Luckey; 2,619,644 to Christensen et al; 2,642,568 to Stewart; 2,680,882 To Hirschmann et al; 3,012,248 to Kleinman; 3,395,406 to Smith; 3,691,565 to Galonek; 3,718,937 to Smith; 3,791,722 to Ahlberg et al; 3,858,242 to Gooding; and 3,945,044 to McGee et al. In addition, so-called thermal lenses employing two plastic lenses held in spaced relation and with their interface sealed by a flexible spacer and commercially available for use in ski goggles are prior art.
Many recreational activities or sports in which large numbers of people participate require the use of goggles. Skiing and motorcycle racing are but two examples. The large number of participants require manufacture of goggles on a large scale so that they may be mass merchandised.
Even limiting consideration to the adult portion of participants in such activities, one will readily appreciate that the persons utilizing such goggles have wisely varying facial and head characteristics due to differences in sex, physical stature, head shape, and even national origin. Thus, it has been desirable, in order to minimize tooling requirements in the manufacture of such goggles, to provide goggle constructions which readily and satisfactorily adapt to the individual characteristics of a particular purchaser. In other words, to achieve economies of scale in manufacturing, it is desirable to minimize the differing number of goggle constructions and yet provide a product that can be satisfactorily worn by a large majority of the prospective purchasers.
Heretofore, this goal has been achieved through the use of a goggle frame which houses the lenses employed in the goggle. In the usual case, the frame is made of a rubberized plastic with sufficient rigidity to grip a lens and yet with sufficient pliability so as to deform somewhat under forces applied thereto by a goggle strap about the head of the wearer so as to more closely conform to the facial shape of the wearer. Examples of such goggles are shown, for example, in the previously identified U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,395,406; 3,718,937; and 3,945,044.
While these goggles have worked extremely well for their intended purposes, those skilled in the art will immediately recognize that the goggle frames must be molded and are of intricate configuration requiring quite expensive tooling. Thus, such goggles are necessarily sold at relatively high cost in order to enable the manufacturer to recapture his tooling costs.
Attempts have also been made to devise goggles that do not require a frame. One example is illustrated in the previously identified U.S. Pat. No. 1,123,376. While such goggles may work well for many purposes, they are not susceptible to use by a large variety of persons having differing facial characteristics. Specifically, the goggles thus formed are extremely rigid, in a large part due to the fact that the goggle lens employs a compound curve, and thus, the goggle cannot flex under forces applied to it by the strap to readily and fully conform to the face of the wearer.
Furthermore, the formation of the lenses of such goggles as compound curves complicates the manufacturing effort and/or increases the cost of tooling thereby adding to the ultimate cost of the goggle.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems.